Appearance-oriented: Korean Women's Cosmetic Culture Research

After South Korea's economic taking off in the 1970 s,its social culture,daily life and other aspects have undergone tremendous changes,such as plastic surgery also flourish with the economic development.Today,South Korea has become a world-renowned country because of its cosmetic surgery so that foreign visitors who go to South Korea for the cosmetic surgery increase much every year.In South Korea,cosmetic as a kind of goods can be purchased arbitrarily which has become a daily practice,the tolerance of the practice of cosmetic surgery in South Korea is very high.Under the influence of the entertainment stars and social elite,the cosmetic surgery has become a practice that the public aspire to accept and formed a unique cosmetic culture.Women is the main group of accepting the cosmetic surgery in South Korea,so this article will explore the main reasons that impact the Korean women's practice of cosmetic surgery.Cosmetic surgery is a medical way of using physical means to transform the physical appearance of the body,and in the early 20th century was used for soldiers who were wounded in the wars to restore their physical appearance of the body earliest.And the using of surgical way to transform a normal appearance is a kind of man-made changes to the natural posture,the way using medical technology to change the normal body attract many social theorists' attention.In the previous social studies on cosmetic surgery,physical sociology,consumerism and feminism all carried out a profound interpretation of cosmetic behavior,and researchers of South Korea's also carried out some research from the cosmetic industry expansion in South Korea,the role of the media and the perspective of people who accept cosmetic surgery.On the basis of the above research,this paper which based on the change of contemporary Korean women's status sums up the research results of the predecessors and the field survey data,trying to carry out a more comprehensive analysis of the reasons the culture of cosmetic surgery in South Korean society from the beauty culture of South Korean,the business model of cosmetic industry and the subjective meaning of the individual and so on.In the culture of paying much attention to individual appearance,the female body has been structured,the body is no longer a physical body,but a social composition that consists of the power,capital,value norms and ideology.Cosmetic surgery is a medical means changing the disease-free body to achieve the artificial beauty which is recognized by social culture.The body which is changed by medical technology reflects social norm and gender difference between male and female.In addition,the developed cosmetic industry in South Korea makes people obtain cosmetic services more conveniently.Fierce competition in the market reduce the price of plastic surgery and the development of technology makes cosmetic surgery more and more simple.As the main group of accepting cosmetic surgery,the Korean women approve plastic surgery bringing them the meanings,including improving self-confidence and bringing them the real benefits.In a short,South Korea's cosmetic culture results of its cultural norm of paying much attention to appearance,large-scale cosmetic industry and women's own positive attitude towards cosmetic and so on.